Brewer urges bell-ringing to recall King speech

FILE- In this Aug. 28, 1963, black-and-white file photo Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. (AP Photo/File)

Governor Jan Brewer is urging Arizonans to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech by ringing bells.

Brewer says in a statement that honoring Wednesday’s anniversary with a noon bell-ringing is a way to honor King’s call to “Let Freedom Ring.” She says the anniversary is a good time to reflect on his message.

The civil rights leader delivered his speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the historic 1963 March on Washington for jobs, economic justice and racial equality. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and was gunned down by an assassin in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968.

Brewer says King stirred the country with his vision for a brighter future.

“Witness the compelling and dramatic story of the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his stirring “I Have a Dream” speech. This watershed event in the Civil Rights Movement helped change the face of America. The film reveals the dramatic story behind the event through the…s the compelling and dramatic story of the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his stirring “I Have a Dream” speech. This watershed event in the Civil Rights Movement helped change the face of America. The film reveals the dramatic story behind the event through the…”

“In commemoration of Wednesday’s 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speech, delivered from the steps of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, Gov. Jan Brewer issued a statement that reads in part, “to honor Dr. King’s call to the nation to ‘Let Freedom Ring,’ I encourage all Arizonans to proudly ring their bells Wednesday, August 28, 2013, at noon, in tribute to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

***** bells, governor, that’s the best you’ve got?

How about, rather than ringing bells to honor Dr. King you promise not to sign any more voter suppression bills?

Bills like HB 2305, which makes it tough for third parties to get on the ballot by significantly increasing the number of signatures their candidates need to qualify. (The Republican-controlled legislature aimed this at Libertarians, mostly, believing Libertarian candidates on the ballot cost them a few congressional seats.)

The law also makes it more difficult for citizens to get initiatives on the ballot. (While the legislature is able refer a proposal to the ballot with a simple vote).

And it prohibits organizations or political parties from collecting (signed and sealed) individual ballots and dropping them off at a polling place, which will make voting more difficult for some of the elderly, the homebound and the disabled.

The anti-voter message in all this is clear as a bell.

I’m guessing Dr. King would have opposed it, in addition to other voter suppression measures Arizona already has on the books.

Then there are the “dreamers,” young people brought illegally into the country as children and raised here as Americans. Smart. Capable. Educated. And unable in Arizona to get a driver’s license. Even though they have been granted temporary legal status.

It’s not citizenship, but it allows them to get jobs. To contribute. But that’s very difficult to do without some type of legal sanction from the state, and Brewer refuses to give it. I’m guessing Dr. King would suggest she do so.

There are citizens collecting signatures to get an initiative on the ballot that would overturn HB 2305.

Essentially, voters here are already ringing bells – alarm bells.

Something that might not have been necessary if you had vetoed the bill rather than signing it.

In some circles – though obviously not in state government – that’s referred to as being “saved by the bell.”

Abstract:
For most of our history, clemency, parole, and good-time credits have offered prisoners an opportunity for early release. Over the last 40 years, however, clemency has fallen into disuse, and many jurisdictions have repealed their parole laws in favor of determinate sentencing. Given our increasingly crowded prisons and expanding correctional budgets, governments are beginning to rethink our approach to punishment. It is unlikely that clemency or parole will come back into fashion any time soon, however, or that severe sentencing laws will quickly disappear. But the federal and STATE governments have continued to use good-time credits as a means of rewarding inmates for positive, in-prison behavior, and legislators may believe that expanding the current good-time laws is the best solution. That approach is reasonable as a policy matter and sellable as a political matter because prisoners must earn good time credits. We therefore may see legislators seek to address prison overcrowding through an expanded good-time system.”